Author: rutakintome

I married Ruth, my high school sweetheart, in 1983 and we have four children and 6 grandchildren. I have been the worship pastor at Mission Bible Church since 2004. We are located in Minooka, a southwest suburb of Chicago. I love singing, bicycling, music, Mahler, boxing, coffee, movies, The Beatles, sunsets, coffee, Mahler, the seashore, sunsets at the seashore, coffee, and… the seashore. Originally from New York, I grew up 15 minutes from the beautiful beaches of southern Long Island. I have a Fujifilm X-T5 that I use to capture the world I see. I also enjoy writing about the images that surface in my mind and heart as I work with the images from my camera. Thanks for stopping by!

is anyone sitting here

is anyone sitting here

montana sunset

montana sunset

I wrote about our recent trip to Montana here. This was taken after we took a truck ride up to the top of a mountain (I think it was called Granite Peak).

willow and light

willow and light

Another post from our recent trip to New Buffalo, MI. There are two large willow trees (don’t you just love willow trees?) behind a hotel on the marina. I found this cature beneath the boughs of one of those old willows.

untitled

untitled

Taken at Devil’s Lake, in Wisconsin, back in April. I went there to spend a couple of days hiking with my oldest son. It was a very chilly, cloudy, day – not the best day for photographs. For some reason, I was drawn to this image. Hope you enjoy.

corn and light

corn and light

So, geographically speaking, this pretty much sums up the part of the mid-west that we live in. Lots of corn and soy bean fields… lots! I must admit, that after living here a few years, I have come to appreciate the beauty of the plains. Having a 360 degree horizon is cool… and… well… there’s the corn…. and…uh… soy beans….?…..    🙂

Illinois River

Taken during a ride this past Tuesday. The weather here has been exceptional for August: refreshingly cool days and near chilly nights! The Illinois River is not what I would call a "majestic" river, but in this image, the river looks pretty good!

Taken during a ride this past Tuesday. The weather here has been exceptional for August: refreshingly cool days and near chilly nights! The Illinois River is not what I would call a “majestic” river, but in this image, the river looks pretty good!

another marina moment

Here is another moment from our recent trip to new Buffalo, Michigan. I am lookinf forward to posting some pictures from our time in Montana, in the meantime, I have a few more images that I am working on.

Here is another moment from our recent trip to New Buffalo, Michigan. I am looking forward to posting some pictures from our time in Montana, in the meantime, I have a few more images that I am working on.

Custer National Forest

This was taken during a hike in the Woodbine Campground Area of the Custer Naitonal Forest. We hikle a little over a mike to a spectacular view of a waterfall in the mountians. You can read about this area here.

We have finished our work with campers who are in the foster care system of the state of Montana. We had a wonderful experience loving on these children and enjoying the activities with them. The state of Montana partners with Beartooth Mountain Christian Ranch to provide a camping experience for kids in their foster care system. It was also a bittersweet time, knowing that many of these campers are in hard circumstances in their young lives. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve and hope to return next year. This year we took an extra day in our schedule to enjoy this part of the world. This was taken during a hike in the Woodbine Campground Area of the Custer National Forest. We hiked a little over a mile to a spectacular view of a waterfall in the mountains.

marina sky

We recently had the opportunity to spend some time in New Buffalo, MI. This is a small, beautiful lakeside town on the east side of Lake Michigan.

We recently had the opportunity to spend some time in New Buffalo, MI. This is a small, beautiful lakeside town.

a little morning glory

Taken at a favorite spot alongside the Illinois River on one of my early bicycle rides. In other news, I may not post for a while as I am heading out to Montana with a team to minister at a camp for kids in the foster care system in grades 3 through 12. This is the second summer we are dong this and we are looking forward to loving on the campers.
Taken at a favorite spot alongside the Illinois River on one of my early morning bicycle rides. In other news, I may not post for a while as I am heading out to Montana with a team to minister at a camp for kids in the foster care system in grades 3 through 12. This is the second summer we are doing this and we are looking forward to loving on all those kids! Hopefully I will be able to sneak in a post or two. Take care everyone!